. [ applause ] [ applause ] welcome to special edition of "way too early," live at the black fin saloon in charlotte. we keep finding ourselves in bars at 5:30 in the morning. story of my life. good morning, i'm willie geist. four years ago we were in denver where then-senator obama filled a football stadium with an address of hope and change. this time he'll have a three and a half-year record to defend. 15 electoral votes in the state of north carolina where he won by 14,000 votes in 2008. the last democratic presidential candidate to win this state before barack obama, jimmy carter in 1976. looking ahead to november, a new poll shows the president will have a tough fight here in north carolina if he wants to win again. among likely voters, mitt romney right now leads the race, it's

tight, 47-43. good reason now, you can see democrats chose this state to put on their biggest show. one of the first orders of business this afternoon will be to adopt a party platform. which democrats unveiled last night. it echoed president obama's call for higher taxes on wealthier americans, while backing same-sex marriage and abortion rights. the platform says the economy is growing again and that al qaeda is at its weakest since the attacks of september 11th, 2001. tonight's keynote address will be given by san antonio mayor, julian castro, a 37-year-old harvard law graduate, seen as an up-and-comer in the party and it will wrap up with a speech by first lady michelle obama. tonight's festivities include speeches by massachusetts senate candidate, elizabeth warren and former president bill clinton. thursday, the final night of the convention over at the bank of america football stadium, will hear from vice president joe biden and then of course, president obama's acceptance speech. over the weekend, republicans

continued to hammer home a question made famous in 1980 by ronald ragen. are you better off now than you were four years ago. campaigning in greenville, north carolina, romney's running mate, paul ryan, posed the same question while previewing the democratic convention. >> president obama is going to be giving a big speech and there are going to be a lot of speeches, lots of words, let me quote president obama four years ago, if you don't have a record to run on, then you paint your opponent as someone people should run from. ladies and gentlemen, that is exactly what barack obama is doing today. you see, the president has no record to run on. the president can say a lot of things and he will. but he can't tell you that you're better off. simply put -- the jimmy carter years looked like the good old days compare to where we are right now. >> well the simple answer from

the obama campaign is yes, we are better off. in january 2009, the month president obama took office, the u.s. economy lost 598,000 jobs. this july, employment rose by 163,000 jobs. on sunday, the question, are you better off appeared to keep the obama campaign and its supporters off-balance. >> i think everybody understands we were this close to a great depression because the leadership of this president, we staved that off. we're beginning to recover. we have a lot more work to do. >> are we where we need to be? no, but the problem with what governor romney said, this for three days, they never offered people an alternative. >> can you say people are better off today than they were years ago? >> no. but that's not the question of this election. >> by sunday they sent out vice president joe biden to set the record straight. >> folks, let me make something clear and say it to the press -- america is better off today than

they left us when they left. you want to know whether we're better off? i got a little bumper sticker for you, osama bin laden is dead and general motors is alive! osama bin laden and general motors is alive! osama bin laden is dead and general motors is alive! >> you can almost hear jason sedakis saying that a few weeks from now. joining me in charlotte, national affairs editor for new york magazine and john heilemann, the author of the book "game change" and wrote this week's cover story about vice president joe biden. john heilemann, good to see you and all of these people that got up early to welcome you. >> let's talk about the scene

shifting from tampa to charlotte. what is the question that president obama has to answer for the american people this week? we heard, are you better off now than you were four years ago, kind of a lukewarm response to that question from the campaign. what do they have to do here? >> the first thing they have to do is rebut those charges and they have to answer that question. for a lot of people and it's tricky as you point out, they had some difficulty, i think foolishly they had difficulty answering the question, because the truth is the country as a whole is better off now than it was four years ago. in every numerical or empirical way. the problem is what they know from their focus groups and voters they talk to. a lot of people don't feel that. for a lot of voters, and a lot of undecided voters, the reason they're undecided, they don't feel like they're better off in their lives. they don't want to sound like they're whistling past the graveyard. they have to find the balance to make the case for the fact they have accomplished things over the last four years and things

now, although they are not great, are way better than they would be if they hadn't taken the actions they did. and i think president obama has a huge opportunity and imperative to talk about what he has to do the next four years. one thing mitt romney and paul ryan did not do in tampa was lay out a proactive, positive agenda. even though conservatives were addressing that, he didn't tell americans what his economic plans and policies are that will make their lives better. that was a blank canvas, so the president and his people here will be characterizing the romney/ryan proposals that they didn't talk about. >> we should pause to say how remarkable it was that barack obama won north carolina four years ago. it hadn't gone democratic since 1976. what's different for him four years later in this state and states like it? >> if you, if you look to as to why any won the state four years ago, unprecedented

african-american turnout, they had an incredible ground game and they turned out a lot of voters in he expanded the electoral universe. got a lot of people to vote who normally stayed home if they have any chance to do that in north carolina, it's the fact they've been on the ground for year if you ask them why they're here, forget about symbolism about fighting in a swing state, they'll be mobilizing on the ground and the big headwind and they'll acknowledge this. gay marriage, by a large margin, disapproved of in this state. the president on the other side of the issue, so they're fighting the cultural conservative headwinds. >> a great cover story in "new york" magazine. about joe biden, richly reported, well-written. we saw him out hammering this theme, osama bin laden is dead, general motors is alive. tell me about joe biden and the difference he makes compared to

most vice presidents. >> he's the number one surrogate for this campaign and this candidate. in some ways he embodies the spirit in good and bad ways of 2012 more than mitt romney or barack obama. neither one of them are dirt fighters. they don't get down in the mud with gusto. joe biden is a guy who is like the id. he's, he has the much, from the gut. he can throw a punch in the gut and still smile at you after he hits you there, that's kind of an incredible skill in politics, he's a guy with longstanding real appeal to white working-class voters. where the obama's campaign greatest weakness is with that class of voters and older white voters, those are the primary targets for the romney/ryan campaign. and biden speaks to that group in a lot of ways more comfortably, more persuasively than president obama does himself. so he'll in a lot of places like north carolina, virginia, ohio,

pennsylvania, florida, talking to those people for the next few months. >> and entertaining us. >> best of all. >> see you coming up on "morning joe," president obama spent the eve of the convention kickoff, touring hurricane damage in louisiana. got a first-hand look at one of the hardest hit communities west of new orleans. >> one thing you know about folks in louisiana, they are resilient. people in mississippi, they are resilient. they know what tough times are like. but they know that they can bounce back. there is enormous faith here. enormous strength here. you can see it with these families, they were just devastated a few days ago and they're already smiling and laughing and feeling confident about the future and pulling together. when disasters like this happen, we set aside whatever petty disagreements we may have. nobody is a democrat or republican. we're all just americans looking out for one another and i

couldn't be prouder of this group right here, that's around me for the great work that they've done. >> mitt romney toured the storm damage on friday, the day after the republican convention, leaving tampa to do that. actor michael clarke duncan, best known for his oscar-nominated role in "the green mile" has died in los angeles. he been hospitalized since july after suffering a heart attack from which he never recovered. the 6'5", 300-pound duncan was from chicago where he worked for a gas company digging ditches before he left for hollywood to chase his dream of being an actor. tom hanks, duncan's co-star from the "green mile" remembered the akor saying i am terribly saddened at the loss of big mike. he was the treasure we all discovered on the set of the "the green mile" he was magic and his passing leaves us stunned. michael clarke duncan was 54 years old. still ahead, a great final-round leaderboard at the

deutsche bank u.s. open. highlights in sports. and some democrats propose an answer at this convention to the empty chair, one-man show put on in tampa by clint eastwood. who do they want to be their client? we'll check the weather when "way too early" comes back to the blackstone saloon in charlotte, north carolina. stand up, stand up and fight. nothing is inevitable here, we're americans, and we never give up, we never quit. we never hide from history, we make history. capella university understands businesses are trying to come

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welcome back to the black fin saloon here in charlotte, north carolina where we'll be all week for the democratic national convention. a little bit rainy and muggy. let's see how it is. sends it back up to new york to bill karins. >> it will be the same in the next two to three days in charlotte, high humidity and you'll spark off the showers and thunderstorms on and off over the next couple of days if you're in the charlotte area, you can expect temperatures in the mid 80s, it could be hotter. temperatures will be kept cool anywhere the late afternoon when you get those tropical downpours. as far as the forecast goes, what we're going to be watching throughout all of the eastern half of the country is the showers and thunderstorms. right now we even have some of those by kansas city, sliding towards cl towards columbia and st. louis. and pennsylvania, heavier rainfall. it will a slow drive, especially areas of new jersey, new york city, on and off downpours throughout the day and airport delays are a possibility. now i mentioned the whole

eastern seaboard has a chance of the showers and storms. the middle of the country is incredibly hot still. it's going to be about 100 degrees today in areas like texas, all the way through oklahoma, 90s from kansas city to denver. so it doesn't feel a lot like the beginning of september, it feels like july or august. but for you in charlotte and the rest of it on the east coast, definitely have that umbrella handy. you'll need it at some portion of the day today. we appreciate it let's turn to sports now in a shameless bid to win over the crowd in charlotte, we begin with the single most important story in all of sports, the carolina panthers. they decide to leave for sunday's season open anywhere tampa a little early, late laer today to avoid the circus that is the democratic national convention. the panthers stadium will serve as the venue for president obama's speech on thursday night. and as of two weeks ago, hundreds of workers have been inside the stadium, installing generators, wiring and decorations for that event. ironically the panthers will

be traveling to tampa, the we just left that hosted the republican national convention to take on the buccaneers in a divisional matchup. the panthers favored 7 1/2 points over the bucs, carolina will be led by second junior quarterback, cam newton who threw for 21 touchdowns last season. shattered a record for rushing touchdowns by a quarterback. despite the heroics, the panthers were just 6-10, but vegas has them at a respectable 40-1 to win the super bowl this season. not at the top of the list, new york squad, vegas has the giants at 22-1. and the jets at 35-1 to win the super bowl. the nfl season kicks off tomorrow on nbc. the new york giants taking on the dallas cowboys in primetime. the game gets going at 8:30 p.m. eastern out in new jersey. college football, folks in

acc country might have been watching 16th ranked virginia tech got all it could handle in georgia tech. virginia tech trailing by three in the fourth quarter, but logan thomas putting the hokies back on top, a 42-yard touchdown to dmitri knowles. it puts tech up after a georgia tech touchdown with 44 seconds, the hokies down three, three seconds left, cody jarnell sends it to overtime with his field goal. after a good-looking drive led by thomas and virginia tech it's jarnell again with a chip shot, 17 yards out, that's the game winner. he redeems himself. he missed an earlier one in the game. plays a hero, virginia tech holds on for the 20-17 win. a little golf, final round of the deutsche bank championship up in boston. louis ust hazen, this tee shot on the par 4, fifth will cost him a couple of strokes, that's

ugly, way off the fairway into the woods, double-boeing idea that. rory mcilroy back in the hunt with a share of the lead. capitalizing on a beauty of the par 4, 6th. mcilroy could tap that one in for birdie. moves into the outright lead at nine under. tiger woods, four strokes back, trying to make a move. his chip shot for birdie spins off the lip of the cup. finishes third at 18 under, becomes the first player to top $100 million in pga tour earnings. mcilroy leading by one stroke, on the final hole, a long putt for birdiance can't quite get it to fall, but tapped in for par. after the hazen, mcilroy wins the deutsche bank championship, finishing first. propel him to the title. baseball, what is going on with

the new york yankees, trying to hold on to a slim lead in the a.l. east. tied at 3-3 in the eighth when chris gjiminez, hits a grounder. the rays hold on and the new york yankees now only up one game on baltimore in the a.l. east. the rays just two and a half back. coming up at the top of the hour on "morning joe," live from charlotte, democrats descend on the city for the party's national convention. they try to make the case for another four years of president barack obama. we'll talk about the big week ahead with joe, mika and our crew and we'll huddle around the water cooler to see how congressman paul ryan stacks up when it comes to running a marathon. "way too early" comes right back. [ woman ] ring. ring. progresso.

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welcome back. live from charlotte, the black fin saloon, mika brzezinski finding herself in a familiar position at 5:53 in the morning. sitting at a bar -- >> where's my drink. >> as in the rest of the country, the economy is the thing here in north carolina. if you want to sound smart today, tell your friends, the unemployment rate in north carolina as of july was 9.6%.

that's almost a point and a half higher than the national average and it puts north carolina's unemployment tied for south carolina for 47th in the country. only california, nebraska and rhode island hosting worst unemployment numbers. let's huddle up around the water cooler where the web is calling on democrats to offer up their own celebrity speaker at this week's convention as an answer to clint eastwood's strange appearance at the rnc. the name being pushed. betty white. could betty white be the democrats clint eastwood, change.org has asked the "hot in cleveland" actress to be a speaker at the dnc. it said clint eastwood's speech game a bad name to older americans everywhere. if you want to see a real old hollywood icon get a political introduction right. the petition has 5,000 signatures and 20,000 likes on

facebook. it wouldn't be the first time the two teemed up. the president wished the actress a happy 90th birthday and she told the a.p. she very much favors obama. a facebook campaign brought betty white to host "snl" in 2010. president obama is calling on the harold and kumar movement by joining forces with actor cal penn. >> hey, this is barack. listen i need to know if you're on board. okay, good, because i'm counting on you, everybody is. we have to get this right. so there's a lot at stake here. just remember that i'm trusting you on this, and i'll see you there. >> who was that? it sounded intense. >> the president. >> sweet.

>> the video is a promotion for a live from charlotte, an interview-style web special hosted on thursday at 8:00. penn served in the obama white house as the associate director of public engagement before he returned to acting. paul ryan known as a numbers guy, just not when it comes to his own marathon time. the vice presidential contender and exercise enthusiast told a radio station last month he finished the grueling 26.2 race in under three hours. about 20 years ago. that is fast. but after some fact-checking it turns out it was more like four hours and one minute. ryan hoerks ran the race when he was 20, about 20 years ago, had some tough competition from other vice presidential nominees. according to runners world, both john edwards and sarah palin clocked faster times than the one posted by paul ryan. whoops. edwards ran the marathon in

three hours, 30 minutes. sarah palin in three hours, 59 minutes. slow and steady may be the most steady way. still ahead, why are you awake? [ male announcer ] wouldn't it be nice if there was an easier, less expensive option than a traditional lawyer? at legalzoom you get personalized services for your family and your business that's 100% guaranteed.

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